Christopher A. Gabler

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Rice University

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Our Pack

Sunshine

Belgian Sheepdog Sunshine Adopted from the streets of uptown New Orleans, the term "rescue" doesn't really fit Sunshine (named by her former "owner") as she certainly knew how to survive, and, in fact, ruled the streets. She is extremely intelligent (she may have some Border Collie), a tremendous hunter, and a fearless protector. She earned the nickname "Bear Cub" for her resemblance to a black bear and her methods of stealing food (often upright), as well as for her wrestling moves involving numerous bear-like paw swipes. Understandably, she is shy around new people but otherwise loving and demanding of frequent belly rubs. Shortly after we adopted her she brought Queena and Grandpa, two of her betas from the street. Sunshine is also of great ecological importance, as she is a very effective and efficient agent of invasive species removal -- nutria and feral cats beware.

Khovanshchina

Papillon X German Shepherd = Khovanshchina Following a fire at the New Orleans animal shelter where she was staying, Khovanshchina was brought unharmed to the animal hospital where I was working at the time. It was love at first sight, but once home, Sunshine had little love for this clever and dominant little fox who refused to submit to the edicts of the Sunshine Regime. Things were tense early on, but nothing some good parenting and a watchful eye couldn't fix. Although at one point Sunshine and Khovanshchina had to be kept separated, they are now loving (though rival) sisters who often work together to take up as much of the bed as possible. Khovanshchina (Koh'-vahn-shee-nah) was named after the heroine of the Mussorgsky opera of the same name due to her remarkable intellect, cunning, gentleness, and courage. Her libido is epic, and while Toffee is her current girlfriend, they certainly aren't exclusive. Khovanshchina always has her eye on the gorgeous Sunshine and has been known to put her moves on the most attractive stuffed animals.

Toffee

Rhodesian Ridgeback(+15 lbs) = Toffee We rescued Toffee shortly after we bought a house in New Orleans East and she fit into our pack immediately. She is the right size and temperment to make an excellent playmate for every other pup, save tiny Kavita. Her main passions are food and sleeping, and while she will pursue anything semi-edible in the "Toffee zone" (within her reach and capable of fitting in her mouth), she is too lazy to give much chase. Instead, she exhibits a low intensity optimal foraging pattern, such as standing in our pond with her mouth opened underwater as she waits for "waterfood" to swim inside, or, while still laying down, snapping at moths or other "airfood" that disturb her slumber. Her musical talent is also impressive -- she will offer vocal harmony in close to the same key as the honking or squeeking of toys. Unless you are the one to feed her, she will try to convince you she hasn't eaten... in days.

Kavita

Daschund X Chihuahua = Kavita Kavita was an emergency rescue from the parking lot of a supermarket near our home, where she was cold, starving, and abused. She instantly became attached to Ischel's hip, where she remains to this day as an obligate lap pup. Coincidentally, we found her on Valentines Day 2005 and her demeanor couldn't be more fitting. She is a relentless kisser and will even close her eyes to kiss more romantically. Before she learned that her packmates weren't threats, her survival instincts and fearless defense of her mother caused some tension, mostly with Khovanshchina, the facultative lap pup. Her few snaps at the immensely larger and stronger Sunshine could have escalated into a problem, save that Sunshine didn't even notice the offense and seemed not to even acknowledge Kavita as a dog, apparently regarding her more as a mouse for which she had no concern -- she was too small to be prey. Once Kavita learned that she was safe with the others, she quickly found her place in the pack, herding Ivan, drinking water from underneath Sunshine, sleeping on Toffee, and flirting with and harassing an exasperated Khovanshchina (just as Khovanshchina does to an exasperated Sunshine - ah, poetic justice). She is extremely intelligent and loyal, and while brave in defending her family, she has been known to cower from clicking beetles and squeaking mice. Her physique is intermediate in size between chihuahua and daschund and she has the elongated body, short legs and behavior of a daschund, with the large eyes, color, tail and head shape of a chihuahua. Her long belly, frequent upright posture, short forelimbs and propensity for burrowing (mostly under blankets and skirts) prompted her "Meerkat" nickname.

Queena

A few weeks after we adpoted her, Sunshine brought us Queena, probably because Sunshine missed having underlings to boss around. Queena's place in the pack was already established, and as she is generally submissive, she took well to new siblings. She's not the brightest dog, but she has the heart of a lion and knows no fear. Due to her street origins, she is extremely wary of any human she doesn't know and can become aggresive if not approached appropriately. Once Queena knows you she is very sweet and loving. She is Sunshine's right hand pup and the two exhibit obvious pack strategy in pursuing prey and when playing. As for her breed, she is likely what you would get if you were to average all breeds, and as such is probably close to what a urban wild dog would be like. The fact that she bears a striking resemblance to wild dogs and highly mixed breeds throughout the world gives further evidence to this idea, at least on morphological grounds. Due to our relocation after Hurricane Katrina and living restrictions, Queena is currently living with a friend, and we look forward to having her back in the same den as the rest of her pack soon.

Ivan

Miniature Schnauzer Ivan In the spring of 2004, while I was boarding up our home in anticipation of Hurricane Ivan, a haggardly emaciated hobo of an old dog wandered up to me. He was painted bones and was so matted that he had full-body dreadlocks. Starving as he was, even as I slowly and gently offered him foot and water, he was clearly wary of me. Once I could check him out and found he had a long-since healed broken rib it was obvious why. All things considered, Ivan adjusted to home life with the rest of the pack very quickly. In a matter of weeks he put on almost 8 lbs (2/3 of his initial weight), became a favorite playmate of the others (particularly Sunshine, who played with him more as a toy than a peer), and became a couch potato. He still retains a few behaviors reminiscent of his years on the street. For instance, one must be careful manipulating his neck or ears as he is defensive of these, and if he is outside when it starts raining, rather than coming inside, he'll seek the nearest cover and won't budge without being carried. Like Queena, Ivan is currently living with a friend due to the complications of Hurricane Katrina.


Breed photos courtesy of www.akc.org
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